1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting assembly which is mounted to a vehicle chassis adjusting device to support and hold the vehicle chassis to be adjusted.
2. Description of Related Art
A seriously damaged, especially twisted, vehicle chassis is generally placed on an adjusting device which is installed on the ground for repair. A number of members are used to support and hold the chassis to be adjusted by the adjusting device, such as a combination base or a lattice-like track installed on a concrete ground and in cooperation with a so-called "drag tower" as well as chains. During adjustment, the most stable fixing points locate on the supporting members. Various types of clamping devices (responsive to different types of U.S.-made, Europe-made, and Japan-made chassis) are developed to securely clamp the supporting members and the chassis together. However, another problem arises in actual practice, that is, when adjusting chassis of different sizes, the result is unsatisfactory as the deformation situations of the damaged chassis differ from one another, i.e., the adjusting orientations required for the damaged chassis vary in a large extent. Furthermore, the force applied by the drag tower to the chassis may reach several tonnes and the supporting members must have opposite supporting force for accurate adjustment of the chassis. Although both the drag tower and the combination base are adjustable to respond to the change in the adjusting orientation, the supporting members lack appropriate arrangements and thus cause problems as they are only adjustable in height and fail to provide strong structural support.
Therefore, there has been a long and unfulfilled need for an improved supporting assembly which is not only adjustable in height but also adjustable in angular position and in lateral direction so as to suit chassis of different sizes.